Eagle Grounded

[nrc]

All 676 F-15s, including mission critical jets, grounded for "airworthiness concerns" after the crash of an older model F-15C on Friday.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/05/f15.grounding/

Hopefully this will be a quick, minor fix, but our strike fighter fleet (in all branches) has been piling up the hours and the need for and cost of maintenance could escalate much more quickly than anticipated. The Rapter will never have the numbers to fill that role and the JSF is still 3-4 years out.

[Gnam]

That sucks. 'Course in that part of the world we could maintain air superiority with a couple of hand grenades and an M16 taped to a hanglider.

Hopefully, the issue can be corrected in the field with stepped up inspections.

[cart7]

That was a MO. Guard jet that went down.
Those planes are old, really old. Must have been an interesting crash as the plane went down in a very rural, heavily wooded part of the state and the plane appeared, by and large, intact. As though it just fell straight down out of the sky.

[stroker]

As long as we don't have to ground the A-10 we're okay in the Sandbox.

:cool:

[Gnam]

Must have been an interesting crash as the plane went down in a very rural, heavily wooded part of the state and the plane appeared, by and large, intact. As though it just fell straight down out of the sky.

Well, I wouldn't say intact...
Looks like the starboard stabilizer is missing.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5623/071105f15crashhc9.jpg

link (http://www.katu.com/news/11030081.html)

[cart7]

Well, I wouldn't say intact...
Looks like the starboard stabilizer is missing.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5623/071105f15crashhc9.jpg

link (http://www.katu.com/news/11030081.html)

Well, intact as it didn't careen through the woods disintegrating as it went. Flame out or some sort of flat spin??

[oddlycalm]

Flame out or some sort of flat spin??Structural failure with important parts falling off followed by substantial loss of altitude.

oc

[Gnam]

^ update.

Air Force begins to lift restrictions on F15 jets (http://www.macon.com/197/story/186900.html)


Witnesses to the crash told news media that the Missouri Air National Guard aircraft appeared to break apart immediately behind the cockpit during training maneuvers with three other aircraft.

Air Combat Command, headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Va., has cleared the way for F-15Es, the newest of the supersonic fighters, to return to action if they pass a detailed visual and non-destructive inspection.

The inspection calls for review of hydraulic lines, longerons, straps and skin panels in and around the aircraft's environmental control system bay. The check - expected to take about 13 hours for each aircraft...

[nrc]

Looks like the eye witnesses were correct.


An Air Force investigation of the crash last fall of an F-15C Eagle fighter jet concluded that a defective metal beam in the frame cracked, causing it to disintegrate during flight.

In a report being released Thursday, obtained in advance by The Associated Press, Air Force investigators said they had found the sole reason for the accident was the faulty support beam, called a longeron, which failed to meet the manufacturer's specifications.

More troubling, however, are the results of a parallel examination finding as many as 163 of the workhorse aircraft also have flawed support beams, or longerons. The aircraft remain grounded as the Air Force continues to search for how serious the problem is and whether extensive, costly repairs are needed. Another 19 of the aircraft have yet to be inspected and also remain grounded.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080111/D8U3CIS80.html

[oddlycalm]

The most obvious question that isn't answered is whether the parts failed to meet spec when new or whether they fail to meet spec after 30yrs of high stress maneuvers and thousands of landings.

oc